1. Field of Invention
The systems and methods of this invention are directed to ad hoc sensor networks.
2. Description of Related Art
Ad hoc sensor networks have potential impact on many applications such as intelligent infrastructures, environmental monitoring, and battlefield monitoring. The characterization of a network's ability to perform a sensing task is a fundamental problem for the deployment and use of such systems. Traditional sensors are characterized by specifications such as range, resolution, and accuracy. These specifications are used to decide if a sensor is suitable for the task and system at hand. The simplicity and elegance of these specifications make the use of individual sensors a very easy task. Similar specifications for sensor networks currently do not exist and extensive testing is necessary to assess the capability of sensor networks and then their suitability for a particular task.
One approach which tackles coverage problems of sensor networks is described by Meguerdichian et al., “Coverage Problems in Wireless Ad Hoc Sensor Networks,” IEEE Infocom 2001, vol. 3, pp. 1380–1387, April 2001. This publication uses the distance from the sensor nodes as the only metric that characterizes the sensing ability. It does not take into consideration any sensor characteristics. Accordingly, this results in the same coverage characterization independent of the type and capabilities of the individual sensors used in the network. Moreover, this approach computes a maximal breach path using a geometrical characterization that is not necessarily related to the sensing capabilities of the network.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,471 to Stiles et al. discloses dynamic optical sensor employment for searching an area. U.S. Pat. No. 6,297,763 to Thomson et al. discloses a method for optimizing the coverage area of a sensor. In both of these patents, coverage characterization of sensing systems is of great significance.